Sound Background Research Articles

A comfortable soundscape perspective in acoustic environmental planning and management: a case study based on local resident audio-visual perceptions

Soundscapes are an important factor related to audio-visual perception and human health; however, research on how local residents perceive the audio-visual environment remains insufficient. This study, therefore, was mainly conducted to examine the effects of sound sources, the sociodemographic factors of the local residents, visual aesthetic quality and quiet landscape experiences on rural soundscapes through on-site and in-home questionnaire surveys focusing on three components of a soundscape. The results indicated that although there were significant differences in the audio-visual perceptions among typical locations, road traffic sounds were the dominant sound category affecting acoustic comfort on site and in memory. The residents’ age affected the acoustic comfort of background sounds and sound marks in certain ways, while positive landscape experiences made sound marks predominantly perceived and the acoustic comfort of each sound category remarkably improved. This study also developed an agile practical soundscape resource optimization process through an audio-visual perceptual investigation.

Investigating the effects of background noise and music on cognitive test performance in introverts and extraverts: A cross-cultural study

Previous research found that introverts performed worse than extraverts on cognitive tasks in the presence of noise or music in a Western sample but not in an Asian sample. This is a cross-cultural part replication of these studies using a Western (British; N = 45) and Asian (Singaporean; N = 45) sample. Participants engaged in three cognitive tests in the presence of pop songs, background noise, and in silence. It was predicted that for British participants, introverts would perform worse than extraverts on all three tasks in the presence of background sounds, and performance would be worse in the presence of background sounds than in silence, but not for the Singaporean participants. The results did not show any performance differences between the background sound conditions for any of the tests across the two samples, nor any performance differences between extraverts and introverts across the background sound conditions, with three exceptions: extraversion for the British was a significant predictor of performance on the Raven’s test in the silence condition, extraversion was a significant predictor of performance for both groups on the mental arithmetic task in the silence condition, and extraversion was a significant predictor of performance for Singaporeans on the mental arithmetic task in the music condition.

Computational fluid dynamics analysis of cabinet‐type solar dryer

AbstractOne of the major constraints in the acceptability of solar dryer in industrial and commercial applications is lack of control on the drying process due to variable, periodic, and dilute availability of solar heat. For reliable operation, process control with auxiliaries become essential in industrial solar dryers. Integration of solar dryers with auxiliaries is also not studied substantially. This research document focuses on CFD simulation of cabinet‐type solar dryer integrated with auxiliaries, which can be operated under different operating conditions. The dryer is equipped with auxiliary heaters and blowers to have precise control over the temperature inside the chamber. The simulations are carried out for drying temperature of 318 K. The results showed that as the day progresses (radiation intensity increases), the region of average temperature increases. The extent of temperature distribution also helps to locate the region of temperature around the drying temperature. Also to facilitate the control of input energy by the auxiliary heaters, a region is located where the average temperature of air inside the drying chamber can be obtained for varying operating conditions. The region lies about 1.2–1.6 m on X‐ordinate, 0.8–1.0 m on Y‐ordinate, and 0.7–1.2 and 3.7–4.3 m on Z‐ordinate. Thus, a feedback loop developed can modulate the input and make it possible to operate the dryer with maximum effectiveness.Practical ApplicationsThe potential for utilization of solar thermal energy in commercial and industrial drying applications up to air temperature of 80°C is remarkable. Solar dryers integrated with an auxiliary heating arrangement assure to save a lot of fossil fuel energy. Reliability and uninterrupted operation are the major requirements from a solar dryer. The manuscript presents computational fluid dynamics analysis of the solar dryer equipped with auxiliary heating. The extent of temperature distribution is determined for dryer with and without auxiliary heating and it clearly reveals that proper auxiliary heating control, helps to maintain temperature inside the dryer. Also the effect of variation of geometry and variation of solar radiation is studied and common region is found which can help to modulate the auxiliary heating. It provided sound background for feedback control mechanism design that will keep temperature near the drying temperature of product and improve drying product quality.

Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality.

Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality.

Development of Masked Speech Detection Thresholds in 2- to 15-year-old Children: Speech-Shaped Noise and Two-Talker Speech Maskers.

On the basis of the data from school-aged children, there is consistent evidence that there is a prolonged course of auditory development for perceiving speech embedded in competing background sounds. Furthermore, age-related differences are prolonged and pronounced for a two-talker speech masker compared to a speech-shaped noise masker. However, little is known about the course of development during the toddler and preschool years because it is difficult to collect reliable behavioral data from this age range. The goal of this study was to extend our lower age limit to include toddlers and preschoolers to characterize the developmental trajectory for masked speech detection thresholds across childhood. Participants were 2- to 15-year-old children (n = 67) and adults (n = 17), all with normal hearing. Thresholds (71%) were measured for detecting a two-syllable word embedded in one of two maskers: speech-shaped noise or two-talker speech. The masker was presented at 55 dB SPL throughout testing. Stimuli were presented to the left ear via a lightweight headphone. Data were collected using an observer-based testing method in which the participant's behavior was judged by an experimenter using a two-interval, two-alternative testing paradigm. The participant's response to the stimulus was shaped by training him/her to perform a conditioned play-based response to the sound. For children, receptive vocabulary and working memory were measured. Data were fitted with a linear regression model to establish the course of development for each masker condition. Appropriateness of the test method was also evaluated by determining if there were age-related differences in training data, inter-rater reliability, or slope or upper asymptote estimates from pooled psychometric functions across different age groups. Child and adult speech detection thresholds were poorer in the two-talker masker than in the speech-shaped noise masker, but different developmental trajectories were seen for the two masker conditions. For the speech-shaped noise masker, threshold improved by about 5 dB across the age span tested, with adult-like performance being reached around 10 years of age. For the two-talker masker condition, thresholds improved by about 7 dB between 2.5 and 15 years. However, the linear fit for this condition failed to achieve adult-like performance because of limited data from teenagers. No significant age-related differences were seen in training data, probe hit rate, or inter-rater reliability. Furthermore, slope and upper asymptote estimates from pooled psychometric functions were similar across different child age groups. Different developmental patterns were seen across the two maskers, with more pronounced child-adult differences and prolonged immaturity during childhood for the two-talker masker relative to the speech-shaped noise masker. Our data do not support the idea that there is rapid improvement of masked speech detection thresholds between 2.5 and 5 years of age. This study also highlights that our observer-based method can be used to collect reliable behavioral data from toddlers and preschoolers-a time period where we know little about auditory development.

Automated Classification of Dugong Calls and Tonal Noise by Combining Contour and MFCC Features

To expand the spatial and temporal scales of passive acoustic monitoring of animals, automatically detecting target sounds among noises with similar acoustic properties is essential but challenging. In particular, the classification of tonal vocalisations and tonal noise remains a universal problem in bioacoustics research. The vocalisations of dugong, which is an endangered marine mammal that inhabits coastal seas, need to be monitored to enhance our understanding of its habitat use. However, detecting dugong tonal vocalisations is difficult due to the presence of tonal noise in the same frequency band. In this study, a classification method was developed for these signals to handle large acoustic data by reducing the labour required for manual inspection. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) were extracted to characterise background sounds along with a few parameters of the signal contour, and a support vector machine was trained for binary classification. The classifier achieved an 84.4% recall and a 93.5% precision on the testing dataset even in a noisy shallow marine environment. This methodology enables the effective classification of dugong calls and similar tonal noises by combining contour and MFCC features and can extend the spatial and temporal scale of acoustic monitoring of the endangered dugong. This technique is potentially applicable to the monitoring of other endangered marine mammals that produce tonal vocalisations.

Computational resources for identification of cancer biomarkers from omics data.

Cancer is one of the most prevailing, deadly and challenging diseases worldwide. The advancement in technology led to the generation of different types of omics data at each genome level that may potentially improve the current status of cancer patients. These data have tremendous applications in managing cancer effectively with improved outcome in patients. This review summarizes the various computational resources and tools housing several types of omics data related to cancer. Major categorization of resources includes-cancer-associated multiomics data repositories, visualization/analysis tools for omics data, machine learning-based diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarker tools, and data analysis algorithms employing the multiomics data. The review primarily focuses on providing comprehensive information on the open-source multiomics tools and data repositories, owing to their broader applicability, economic-benefit and usability. Sections including the comparative analysis, tools applicability and possible future directions have also been discussed in detail. We hope that this information will significantly benefit the researchers and clinicians, especially those with no sound background in bioinformatics and who lack sufficient data analysis skills to interpret something from the plethora of cancer-specific data generated nowadays.

Strategies for Improving Quantity Surveyors’ Education Training in Uganda

Education and training of Quantity Surveyors (QSs) has been a topical subject amongst academics, the industry, and professional institutions, often leading to a discussion about education versus training, in which case, the industry sometimes argues that QSs are often ill-prepared for work. The current study investigated strategies for improving QSs’ education training in Uganda, with a focus on devising ways of engendering better graduates that are fit for the industry. A semi-structured online questionnaire was used to collect data. The research population included QSs practicing in the Ugandan Construction Industry. The majority of respondents agreed to a great extent that QSs, and thus their training, are still relevant in the current construction industry. Majority of respondents desired the teaching curriculum to include more practical aspects that expose students to real challenges in practice. It was suggested that early exposure of students to real field practice was paramount to students’ training. Engagements such as industrial training and internship placements in Quantity Surveying firms were highly encouraged. The curriculum also needs to be responsive to recent advances in industry practices, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). Meanwhile, the University should intensify action research with the industry, and forge collaborations with all the key players in the construction sector to streamline the training. The findings of this study, if implemented, could potentially improve the quality of Quantity Surveying programmes at institutions of higher learning in similar developing countries. This would hopefully produce graduates who are industrially relevant and with a sound academic background.

Improving Instructional Videos with Background Music and Sound Effects: A Design-Based Research Approach

There is a lack of empirical studies incorporating background music (BM) and sounds (SFX) to instructional videos to facilitate students’ learning. A design-based research study was conducted to enhance student engagement and motivation including four iterative formative evaluations. In the first iteration, graduate students’ reactions were examined to understand the potential influences of BM and SFX in the learning experience. The second iteration consisted of a small-group session focused on describing students’ levels of engagement, motivation, and learning while using videos that included BM and SFX. In the third iteration, a field test was conducted to explore the effects of BM and SFX on students’ engagement, motivation, and learning. The fourth iteration collected experts’ feedback to inform future research and practice. Results showed beneficial effects of BM and SFX for motivation, engagement, and potential learning. Practical guidelines are suggested for faculty and instructional designers to implement BM and SFX on instructional videos. The paper concludes by posing an emergent theory: the design and integration of BM and SFX need to balance the motivational improvements with the challenges of cognitive dissonance and overload.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF THE BODY VIBRATIONS ON THE HUMAN PERFORMANCES

In this paper, we wanted to check if classical music can improve the intellectual and practical skills of those who work in very difficult conditions. For this, we exposed 44 male students, aged 21-24, with normal BMI (19-24), in perfect health, to four types of stressors, when there is classical music as a sic sound background and when we have no music. The stressors used were vibration, excessive temperature, and humidity as well as very strong light. Two pieces of music were chosen as background: "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (Mozart) and "Minuetto" (Boccherini). These 2 musical works were chosen because they are cheerful, optimistic, written in an alert rhythm, easily recognizable even if the audience is not music lovers. Students’ performance was measured using 3 tests: the Purdue Pegboard Test, the Stroop Color and Word Test and also Comparing of Names Test. The results show that neither Mozart's music nor Boccherini's music led to an improvement in student performances; on the contrary, better results were obtained when it was silence.

Reduction of Subjective Listening Effort for TV Broadcast Signals With Recurrent Neural Networks

Listening to the audio of TV broadcast signals can be challenging for hearing-impaired as well as normal-hearing listeners, especially when background sounds are prominent or too loud compared to the speech signal. This can result in a reduced satisfaction and increased listening effort of the listeners. Since the broadcast sound is usually premixed, we perform a subjective evaluation for quantifying the potential of speech enhancement systems based on audio source separation and recurrent neural networks (RNN). Recently, RNNs have shown promising results in the context of sound source separation and real-time signal processing. In this paper, we separate the speech from the background signals and remix the separated sounds at a higher signal-to-noise ratio. This differs from classic speech enhancement, where usually only the extracted speech signal is exploited. The subjective evaluation with 20 normal-hearing subjects on real TV-broadcast material shows that our proposed enhancement system is able to reduce the listening effort by around 2 points on a 13-point listening effort rating scale and increases the perceived sound quality compared to the original mixture.

Zahtevi i potrebe za titlovanjem audio-vizuelnih sadržaja namenjenih gluvim i nagluvim učenicima

Caption technology for deaf and hard of hearing translates the same spoken language into written language, including not only a textual recording of speech but also a description of background sounds. The literature states that the effects of captioned audio-visual content are conditioned by the level and speed of reading and that the understanding of the captioned material depends on the complexity of the text as well. The central question regarding captioning for deaf and hard of hearing is whether to literally translate audio recordings or to adapt them. While the deaf prefer the first option, research findings show that comprehension is greater if the text is simplified. The aim of the research was to determine the contribution of captioning to the understanding of audio-visual content among deaf and hard of hearing pupils of different levels of education by reviewing recent literature in this field. Papers related to the contribution of captioning to the understanding of content in deaf and hard of hearing pupils were primarily searched through the Google Scholar database in order to narrow the research to journals with the largest number of papers on this topic: American Annals of Deaf, Brain Sciences, Deafness & Educational International, Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Philosophy and Practice, The Journal of Specialized Translation Library. Ten papers that met the selection criteria were analyzed, with the largest number of papers focusing on primary school pupils. A statistically significant advantage in understanding captions with custom translation was found in one analyzed study, while the results of the other authors were statistically significant only in the domain of vocabulary, in the effects of captions vs. audio-visual content and in the effects of captions vs. sign language translation. The use of captioned material in the implementation of curriculum of many school subjects would provide important information that could improve the quality of teaching for deaf and hard of hearing pupils whether they attend inclusive or residential schools.

Background Sounds and Noises in Hospital: A Proactive Analysis of Psychological Repercussions on Patients in the “Santissima Annunziata” Hospital, Taranto, Italy

Background Sounds and Noises in Hospital: A Proactive Analysis of Psychological Repercussions on Patients in the “Santissima Annunziata” Hospital, Taranto, Italy

Computer-Based Reading Texts to Support Fourth Graders’ Reading Comprehension

In an experimental research design, elementary school fourth grade students (n = 60) were randomly assigned to either computer-based reading or traditional reading conditions in this study. The groups completed before-reading, during-reading and after-reading activities on computer or in traditional format, respectively. The computer-based reading texts included static and animated visuals and background sounds. Students in each group completed a pretest, four reading texts and a posttest over a six-week period: the pretest in the first week, the four texts in the following four weeks, and the posttest in the sixth week. The results showed that although no significant difference was found between group’s pretest scores, computer-based group has significantly better posttest scores than the traditional group. Additionally, the fourth graders in the computer-based reading group significantly improved their reading comprehension. However, there was no significant difference between students’ reading comprehension results from pretest to posttest in traditional group. As a result, presenting students multimedia supported reading activities has a positive impact on their reading comprehension. Thus, we recommend teachers use individual and visually-supported computer-based reading texts to improve students’ reading comprehension.

(2009-6152) 2-set-based extended functions

We generalize set-based extended functions, recently introduced by Mesiar et al., into 2-set-based extended functions. In both cases, an efficient reduction of repeated data to be fused is considered which prepares a sound background for big data processing. We discuss and study several types of 2-set-based extended functions, in particular, 2-set-based extended aggregation functions, including t-norms, t-conorms, uninorms, nullnorms and OWA operators.

Innovative Programmes for Gender Equality in Indian School Education

Background: National Education Policy 2020 aims to eliminate existing disparities in access to education for children from any gender or any under-represented group. After independence, India makes considerable strides in reducing gender gaps in education, but even today the goal of gender parity in school enrolments remains elusive. India provides Universal Elementary Education to all and this commitment has been articulated through Constitution, National Education Policies and other Innovative Programmes. All these initiatives put a strong emphasis on the education of girls and some of the programmes have been started particularly to eliminate gender gaps in school education. Purpose: This paper is an attempt to review the Innovative Programmes started by the Government of India to redress the gender gaps in school education and also to analyze the impact of these programmes on female literacy rates and enrolment rates of girls in elementary education. Before analyzing the innovative programmes and their impact on educational statistics, the paper briefly assesses the status of education in the Constitution of India and also studies the national policy perspective regarding universal elementary education of girls in the country in order to provide a sound background to this study. Methods: The method of document analysis for the review of policy documents and innovative programmes has been utilized and trend analysis method has been applied to study the educational statistics from the year 1950 to 2015. Results: The female literacy rates and enrolment of girls in total enrolments for the classes VI-VIII have registered an increase after the implementation of these programmes. Conclusions: It has been observed that these community-based programmes of the country have received a lot of international recognition for their contribution towards reducing gender gaps in elementary education. So, the experiences of these Innovative Programmes can prove quite beneficial for other countries struggling with gender gaps in school education.

Sound therapy for cochlear implant users with tinnitus

Objective Despite the positive effect of a cochlear implant (CI) on tinnitus in many patients, tinnitus remains a problem for a significant proportion of CI users. We investigated the acceptability and effect of sound therapy (a combination of natural background sounds and one concise tinnitus counselling session) on tinnitus and speech perception in CI users who still experienced tinnitus during CI use. Design and study sample Thirty-two CI users (32–78 years) participated in phase 1: a test at the clinic to evaluate six background sounds provided by the sound processor. Eighteen out of the 32 CI users participated in phase 2: an optional take-home evaluation of 2 weeks without sound therapy, followed by 5 weeks with sound therapy, ending with an evaluation visit. Results Thirty subjects (93.8%) found at least one background sound acceptable. In phase 2, a small improvement with sound therapy was found for tinnitus loudness, annoyance, and intrusiveness. 50% of the subjects subjectively reported benefit of sound therapy. Especially the sense of control on their tinnitus was highly appreciated. No detrimental effect on speech perception was observed. Conclusion The background sounds were acceptable and provided tinnitus relief in some CI users with tinnitus during CI use.

Climate change: Does international research fulfill global demands and necessities?

BackgroundClimate change is safe to be one of the biggest challenges of mankind. Human activities, especially the combustion of fossil fuels, contribute to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and thus to the pace of climate change. The effects of climate change are already being felt, and the resulting damage will most likely be enormous worldwide. Because global impacts vary widely and will lead to very different national vulnerability to climate impacts, each country, depending on its economic background, has different options to ward off negative impacts. Decisions have to be made to mitigate climate consequences according to the preparedness and the vulnerability of countries against the presumed impacts. This requires a profound scientific basis. To provide sound background information, a bibliometric study was conducted to present global research on climate change using established and specific parameters. Bibliometric standard parameters, established socioeconomic values, and climate change specific indices were used for the analyses. This allowed us to provide an overall picture of the global research pattern not only in terms of general aspects, but also in terms of climate change impacts, its effects and regional differences. For this purpose, we choose representative indices, such as the CO2 emissions for the responsibility of countries, the global climate risk index as a combination value for the different types of damage that countries can expect, the increase in sea level as a specific parameter as a measure of the huge global environmental impacts, and the readiness and vulnerability index for the different circumstances of individual countries under which climate change will take place. We hope to have thus made a comprehensive and representative selection of specific parameters that is sufficient to map the global research landscape. We have supplemented the methodology accordingly.ResultsIn terms of absolute publication numbers, the USA was the leading country, followed by the UK, and China in 3rd place. The steep rise in Chinese publication numbers over time came into view, while their citation numbers are relatively low. Scandinavian countries were leading regarding their publication numbers related to CO2 emission and socioeconomic indices. Only three developing countries stand out in all analyses: Costa Rica, the Fiji Atoll, and Zimbabwe, although it is here that the climate impact will be greatest. A positive correlation between countries’ preparedness for the impacts of climate change and their publication numbers could be shown, while the correlation between countries’ vulnerability and their publication numbers was negative.ConclusionsWe could show that there exists an inequity between national research efforts according to the publication output and the demands and necessities of countries related to their socioeconomic status. This inequity calls for a rethink, a different approach, and a different policy to improve countries' preparedness and mitigation capacity, which requires the inclusion of the most affected regions of the world in a strengthened international cooperation network.

The importance of high-frequency hearing in a medico-legal context

People whose hearing is damaged by exposure to intense sounds, typically in noisy factories or during military service, often claim compensation. The most common complaint of such people is difficulty in understanding speech when background sounds are present. However, because direct measures of the intelligibility if speech in noise were perceived to be unreliable, compensation has traditionally been based on the audiogram. Exposure to intense sounds usually has its greatest effects on audiometric thresholds at 4, 6, and 8 kHz. However, in several countries, including the USA and the UK, compensation for occupational noise-induced hearing loss is usually calculated using the average of audiometric thresholds for selected frequencies up to 3 kHz, based on the implicit assumption that hearing loss for frequencies above 3 kHz has no material adverse consequences. In fact, several studies show that frequencies above 3 kHz are important for the perception of speech in background sounds and for sound localisation, especially for resolving front-back confusions. It is concluded that audiometric thresholds at 4 kHz and perhaps 6 kHz should be taken into account when assessing hearing in a medico-legal context. In addition, direct measures of the ability to understand speech in noise should be obtained.

Foreground stimuli and task engagement enhance neuronal adaptation to background noise in the inferior colliculus of macaques.

Auditory neuronal responses are modified by background noise. Inferior colliculus (IC) neuronal responses adapt to the most frequent sound level within an acoustic scene (adaptation to stimulus statistics), a mechanism that may preserve neuronal and behavioral thresholds for signal detection. However, it is still unclear whether the presence of foreground stimuli and/or task involvement can modify neuronal adaptation. To investigate how task engagement interacts with this mechanism, we compared the response of IC neurons to background noise, which caused adaptation to stimulus statistics, while macaque monkeys performed a masked tone detection task (task-driven condition) with responses recorded when the same background noise was presented alone (passive listening condition). In the task-dependent condition, monkeys performed a Go/No-Go task while 50-ms tones were embedded within an adaptation-inducing continuous background noise whose levels changed every 50 ms and were drawn from a probability distribution. The adaptation to noise stimulus statistics in IC neuronal responses was significantly enhanced in the task-driven condition compared with the passive listening condition, showing that foreground stimuli and/or task-engagement can modify IC neuronal responses. Additionally, the response of IC neurons to noise was significantly affected by the preceding sensory information (history effect) regardless of task involvement. These studies show that dynamic range adaptation in IC preserves behavioral and neurometric thresholds irrespective of noise type and a dependence of neuronal activity on task-related factors at subcortical levels of processing.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Auditory neuronal responses are influenced by maskers and distractors. However, it is still unclear whether the neuronal sensitivity to the masker stimulus is influenced by task-dependent factors. Our study represents one of the first attempts to investigate how task involvement influences the neural representation of background sounds in the subcortical, midbrain auditory neurons of behaving animals.